Towhid Hridoy hits record-breaking double century for Bangladesh in second Test against West Indies

Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy converted his maiden century into a double century to lift his team into a dominant position in the second and final cricket test against West Indies on Saturday.

His masterclass helped Bangladesh reach 386, taking a 30-run lead in the first innings from a near-hopeless situation. West Indies was 7 for no loss when bad light forced early stump.

Hridoy was unbeaten on 242 off 359, smashing 22 fours and 11 sixes.

He became the fourth Bangladeshi batter to hit a double century after Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal and also passed Mushfiqur’s 219 to become the highest individual scorer for the country.

The batter led the side astutely when Bangladesh appeared to concede a big first innings lead after West Indies was bowled out for 356.

“It’s unbelievable how he was still able to find boundaries and hit sixes even when he started getting tired,” Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons said of Hridoy. “He showed outstanding game awareness, knowing which shots to play and when to give the last three batsmen the strike. Everything he did in this innings was exceptional.”

Resuming at 88-3 on Day 3, Hridoy and Mushfiqur negotiated the West Indies bowlers well before Jomel Warrican dismissed Mushfiqur, ending their 73-run partnership.

Warrican and skipper Roston Chase then sparked a collapse as Bangladesh lost three wickets in quick succession to be left at 184-7.

Hridoy then helped the side stage a comeback by adding 117 runs with Taijul Islam in the eighth wicket.

He raised his maiden century off 171 balls, taking a single off Chase, which also took the side past 300.

After the century, Hridoy became more adventurous, unleashing a spectacular attack on West Indies bowlers. Ten of his 11 sixes, highest by any Bangladeshi batter and also second highest in cricket history, came in in this period, leaving visiting bowlers shocked.

Warrican, who took 4-104, finally broke through with the wicket of Taijul for 22.

But Hridoy was unstoppable, as he shared an 85-run partnership with Taskin Ahmed in the ninth wicket to edge Bangladesh ahead.

He raised his double century of 304 balls by driving Warrican to long-off for single.

“We were thinking about what lead we could have got or how big the lead could have been, but the way Hridoy batted was special,” Warrican said. “We have to reflect on things that we could have done better. As a unit, we still have to keep our heads up because there’s a job to be done. We have to come back well tomorrow.”

Jayden Seales dismissed Taskin to wrap up Bangladesh innings as opener Shadman Islam was unable to bat after injuring his ankle on Day 2.

Bangladesh bowlers lost two reviews in the first over before West Indies openers Joshua da Silva and Brandon King kept them unscathed by safely negotiating four overs.